This study examined communal conflicts and household food security in Toto Local Government Area, Nasarawa State, Nigeria. A cross-sectional mixed-methods design was used, with data collected via a structured questionnaire and in-depth interviews from 384 households and 12 key informants. Food security was assessed using the Food Consumption Score, the Household Food Insecurity Access Scale, and the Foster–Greer–Thorbecke (FGT) index; descriptive statistics, Chi-square tests, and binary logistic regression were used for analysis. About 72.4% of households had experienced at least one conflict incident in the previous three years, most commonly farmer–herder conflict (52.3%), followed by land disputes (25.5%) and ethnic clashes (22.1%). Farmland loss, displacement, market disruption, livestock loss, and destruction of stored food were all significantly more prevalent among conflict-affected households (p < .001). The FGT index showed that 68.2% of conflict-affected households were food insecure, compared with 34.1% of non-affected households, with severe food insecurity 4.6 times higher among affected households. Logistic regression indicated that conflict exposure was associated with 3.80 times higher odds of household food insecurity (OR = 3.80). Communal conflict undermined all four pillars of food security in Toto LGA through asset destruction, market disruption, displacement, and loss of social capital. The study recommends community peacebuilding, peace-sensitive agricultural policy, targeted social protection, seasonal farm-area security, and livelihood recovery in conflict-prone areas.
Keywords: Communal Conflict; Displacement; Food Security; Household; Livelihood; Toto LGA